Professional Etiquette

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Professional Etiquette
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What is Etiquette??

• Websters II New College Dictionary defines
  Etiquette as
• The forms and practices prescribed by social
  convention or by authority.

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Does How Etiquette Benefit You?

• Differentiates you from others in a competitive
  job market
• Enables you to be confident in a variety of
  settings with a variety of people
• Honors commitment to excellence and quality
• Modifies distracting behaviors and develops
  admired conduct
• Be one step ahead, practice the social skills
  necessary to help you make a great first
  impression and stand out in a competitive job
  market.
• -Kenneth-

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Critical Etiquette Topics to Consider

• Etiquette Basics
• Professional Appearance
• Office Etiquette
• Dining and Table Manners
• Networking

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Etiquette Basics

• Technical and job-related skills are a must, but
  they are NOT sufficient when it comes to
  progressing up the ladder.
• With the traditional paternalistic style of
  leadership becoming passé, professional managers
  expect their teams to be proactive and
  communicate openly.
• "Soft skills are very important in business. It
  is essential to be technically sound, but one
  should also have the ability to convey the idea
  to the masses in the simplest possible manner,"

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Etiquette Basics(Creating a positive image)

• Behaviour
• Exhibit a positive attitude and pleasant demeanor
• Use a firm handshake
• Maintain good eye contact
• Appropriate introductions introduce someone by
  their title and last name (Ms. Mrs. Mr. Dr.
  Swami), unless otherwise specified
• Rise when you are introducing someone or you are
  being introduced
• Nonverbal communication is important
• Show common respect and consideration for others

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• Do you have these? If your answer is yes, good
  for you.
• But if your answer is no, then you know it is
  time to approach either a training organisation
  or a training consultant or learn them yourself
  (follow the leader-pauper who became king)

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Will formal training enhance your soft skills?

• There is a lot of argument in the industry as
  to whether it is possible to enhance soft skills
  in a few hours of training, especially when one
  considers the fact that a person has lived with
  those traits all his life. To this, the answer is
  harsh but real -- a professional who wants to do
  well in his/ her career does not really have a
  choice

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• In the initial years of your career,
• your technical abilities are important to get
• good assignments. However, when it
• comes to growing in an organisation, it is
• your personality that matters, more so in
  large organisation where several people with
  similar technical expertise will compete for a
  promotion.

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Professional Appearance

• Grooming is fundamental
• Hair clean and styled appropriately
• Clean nails, skin and teeth
• Many professionals wear make-up
• (depends on field)
• Check fragrance and clothing care

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Professional Appearance

• Wardrobe
• Professional Business Wardrobe
• -For women skirted/pant suit, blouse or dress
  shirt, sari,salwar-kameez, clean and well
  maintained dress shoes (generally closed-toe
  shoe)
• -For men suit, dress shirt, tie (well
  maintained dress shoes)
• Outerwear
• -Appropriate for women/men Trench coat,
  umbrella

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Professional Work Attire
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Professional Appearance

• Business Casual Wardrobe
• For women dress pants, shirt, blouse, sari well
  maintained dress or casual shoe (no tennis shoes,
  flip flops, etc.)
• For men slacks/khaki pants, polo shirt, or other
  collared dress shirt, well maintained dress or
  casual shoes (no tennis shoes, flip flops, etc.)
• NOTHING SLOPPY

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Casual Work Attire
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Office Etiquette

• Telephone
• Use appropriate tone of voice
• Maintain a positive attitude
• Remove slang terms and use good listening skills
  (Yea)
• Take complete phone messages (name, date, time,
  reason for calling, where they can be reached)
• Cell phone TURN IT OFF

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Office Etiquette

• Email
• Make subject line specific
• Address emails
• Reply to a question- copy question into your
  email and then provide your response
• Follow standard writing guidelines - business
  letter format as a professional courtesy
• Keep it short and concise
• Include your name and contact information
• REMEMBER NOTHING is confidential when sent
  electronically

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Office Etiquette

• Cubical
• Keep in mind that others work around you
• Professional business calls only
• Use your inside voice when on the phone or
  speaking with a co-worker
• Remember cubical conversations and calls can be
  heard by others (use discretion and good judgment
  as there is no free air space)

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Office Etiquette

• Attending a meeting
• - Be on time or call if you are delayed
• Listen carefully
• Come prepared
• Be concise and articulate when speaking
• Show respect

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Office Etiquette

• Get to know the work culture
• Unique sets of norms (breaks, lunch, meetings,
  workplace politics, etc.)
• Find out what the organization values, philosophy
  of conducting business, work ethic, etc.
• How and when do effective people communicate in
  the organization?

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Office Etiquette

• What is expected of you?
• Dont talk too often about Bygone Days the
  faster you shed your previous identity, the more
  easily you will begin to work in the new setting.
• Find out about the informal chain of command

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Office Etiquette

• Making a positive impression
• Recognize that what you do early on will be
  magnified
• Remember your manners
• Be ready to learn, adapt and change
• Exercise professional maturity by showing good
  judgment and build good relationships

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Office Etiquette

• Show a healthy respect for colleagues experience
  and expertise
• Exhibit a positive attitude and know what your
  role will be on the team How can I best
  assist?
• Leave your personal life at the front door
• Inquire about the proper way to respond to
  co-workers, supervisors, clients ( Business
  letter head, phone call etc.)

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The Importance of Dining Appropriately

• 80 of second interviews involve a business
  meal. Therefore Table Manners is an integral part
  etiquettes.

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Professional Dining Basics

• Style Dining
• Arrive on time
• Wait to sit until host/hostess indicated the
  seating arrangement
• Put napkin in lap before drinking or eating
• Order easy to eat food
• Dont order the most expensive items on the menu

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Professional Dining Basics

• Wait until everyone has been served before you
  begin to eat
• Bring food to your mouth NOT your head to your
  plate
• Salt/Pepper pass together
• Generally pass food to the right
• Rest utensils on plate while talking
• Do not talk with your mouth full
• Do not chew with your mouth open

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Individual Place Setting
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Professional Dining Basics

• Proper posture is important
• Table manners please!!
• (No gum, no elbows on the table)
• Please and Thank You
• Turn your cell phone off
• Be responsible for keeping up and positively
  contributing to the conversation
• Small Talk is appropriate topics such as
• Books, sports, food, theater, travel, current
  events etc.
• Follow employers lead

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• Serve guests of honor, woman first, then male,
  then counterclockwise around the table. Serve
  host then hostess last.
• Small part of 6 or less, wait to eat until
  hostess begins. At a large party, hostess urges
  everyone to begin as they are served
• Place knife and fork on plate after using, knife
  with sharp edge facing in and fork with tines up
  (American) or down (Continental) and placed so
  they will not fall off the plate.

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• Never place used silverware on the table or leave
  it in a cup or small bowl.
• A used soup spoon is left in a large soup plate
  or on the plate under the soup bowl.
• A used coffee spoon is placed on the saucer
  beneath the handle of the cup.
• Unused silver is left on the table.

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• When you are finished, place the fork and knife
  parallel to each other, so they lie either across
  horizontally the center of the plate or are on
  the diagonal, with the handles pointing to
  the
  right.
• Dessert silverware Place so the spoon can be
  picked up with the right hand and the fork so it
  can be picked up with the left hand.
• The napkin as soon as you are seated, remove
  the napkin from your place setting, unfold it,
  and place it in your lap.

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• If your napkin falls on the floor during a formal
  meal, do not retrieve it. You should be able to
  signal a waiter that you need a fresh one.
• When you leave the table at the end of a meal,
  place your napkin loosely next to your plate. It
  should not be crumpled or twisted, it may be
  casually folded. You may place it in the napkin
  ring if one is present.
• When you leave the table at the end of a meal,
  place your napkin loosely next to your plate. It
  should not be crumpled or twisted, it may be
  casually folded. You may place it in the napkin
  ring if one is present

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• Do not place your napkin in your empty plate.
• When eating soup or dessert that has liquid, it
  is acceptable to tip the bowl when necessary, but
  tip it away from you.
• Test liquids before eating by testing a small
  amount with a spoon to see if it is too hot.
  Never blow on food to cool it.

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• Do not automatically add salt or pepper before
  tasting. If you need to add to suit your taste,
  do it unobtrusively.
• When asked to pass the salt or pepper, pick up
  both the salt and pepper and place them on the
  table within reach of the person next to you who
  will do the same, and so on, until they reach the
  person who asked for them. They are not passed
  hand-to-hand.

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• To remove inedible items from the mouth, it
  should go out the same way it went in.
• Olive pits can be delicately dropped onto an open
  palm before putting them onto your plate.
• A piece of bone discovered in a bit of chicken
  should be returned to the plate by way of the
  fork.
• Fish is an exception to the rule. It is fine to
  remove the tiny bones with your fingers, since
  they would be difficult to drop from your mouth
  onto the fork.

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• Big seeds should be removed with a spoon.
• An extremely fatty piece of meat that you simply
  cant bring yourself to swallow, it will be
  necessary to surreptitiously spit it into your
  napkin, so that you can keep it out of sight.
• Or you can remove it with a fork and place it on
  your plate and camouflage it with another morsel
  of food.
• Just like your mother told you, Keep your elbows
  off the table!

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• If you are someones guest at a restaurant, ask
  the person what
  he/she recommends. By doing this,
  you will learn the price
  range guidelines and have
  an idea of what to order.
• Usually order an item in the mid price range.
  Keep in mind that the person who typically
  initiates the meal will pay.
• Dont order appetizers or dessert unless your
  host does. It is inappropriate for your meal to
  cost more than your hosts meal.
• When ordering, avoid foods that are difficult to
  eat gracefully.
• Be prepared. If there is a purpose to the
  luncheon or dinner meeting, make it clear when
  extending or accepting an invitation. Bring
  writing materials

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• If your dining at someones home and arent sure
  what to do, follow the actions of the host or
  hostess as a guide.
• Remember what your parents told you. Dont talk
  with your mouth full, finish chewing, swallow the
  food and then talk.
• Cut food into small pieces for eating. If you
  try to eat large pieces, you may have difficulty
  chewing and might choke.
• People from different countries and cultures have
  table manners that may be different from yours.
  Respect and accept people with other customs.

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What is Not Appropriate?

• No swearing
• No loud or obnoxious behavior
• No crude comments or topics
• Subjects to avoid health, gossip, love life,
  politics, religion, race and inappropriate
  stories or jokes

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Networking

• BREAK OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
• Mingle Mingle Mingle Mingle Mingle
• Dont travel with your friends
• Make direct eye contact, smile and speak
• Contribute positively to the conversation with
  your thoughts and open ended questions
• Dont monopolize someones time
• (This is not a time to gain free advice.)
• If appropriate, collect business card(s)
• Politely excuse yourself and move on to another
  individual

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